Students rush to the aid of woman in labour outside mall

PETALING JAYA: It was just another day at the mall for four teenagers. But when an emergency struck, they became heroes.

A couple will forever be grateful to Shirley Lee, 15, college coursemates Farhana Mohd Fadzli and Wee Tai May, both 18, and Wong Hui Yu, 19, for helping to deliver their baby after the wife went into labour outside Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall on Wednesday.

Upon seeing Siow Huey Quin, 35, suffering labour pains, the group rushed to help despite not knowing what to do.

Farhana said she relied on what she had learned from novels and movies to bring the baby into the world safely.

“When the baby was born, I noticed it was not crying,” said the Canadian International Matricu­lation Programme student at Sunway College Kuala Lumpur.

Farhana quickly told Lee to pat its buttocks. To their relief, the baby started crying.

Though the baby boy was born two weeks early, he was in good health.

Siow, her husband Kee Hoo Beng and her sister’s family had gone to Sunway for a day trip.

Kee, 40, was at the Sunway Lagoon Water Park when he received an urgent phone call from Siow, who was at the shopping mall, telling him she was in pain.

“When I reached her, I found that I had left my car keys at the water park,” said Kee.

Forced to double back and retrieve the keys, Kee returned to find his wife in labour.

“When my wife’s water broke, my mind went blank. She couldn’t move. I cannot imagine what would have happened if the good people did not stop to help,” he said.

They were stuck outside the shopping mall when Shirley, a Sunway Inter­national School student, approached them.

“She did not look 15. I thought she was a medical student at the university. She asked my wife to push. When the baby was out, she even used her shoelaces to tie the umbilical cord,” said a grateful Kee.

Farhana, Wee and Wong quickly joined Shirley when they saw her helping Siow.

Wee admitted to feeling squeamish at the sight of blood, but pushed her fear aside and held Siow’s hand, offering her words of encou­ragement and serving as a translator.

“Mrs Kee kept speaking Cantonese and the Sunway Pyramid management team did not understand her, so I translated what she was saying,” said Wee.

Others who offered aid included employees from a restaurant, who erected makeshift curtains to ensure privacy for Seow, and the mall’s customer service representatives, who diverted traffic so that the ambulance could take the family to hospital quickly.

Kee said mere words could not describe his gratitude towards those who helped them.

“This is the reality of Malaysians on the ground. We have mutual respect and are not afraid to help each other. This is the true spirit of Malaysia,” said Kee.